I’ve Been Dreaming About Rivers

I’ve been dreaming a lot about rivers lately. Yeah I know that probably sounds strange but what can I say. These dreams have made me realize that a river is an incredible metaphor for our lives.

A river has a well-defined beginning and end. It doesn’t flows forever.

A river starts small, I’ve seen pictures of the mighty Mississippi river at its source and you can step over it.

A river grows as it flows downstream and interacts with other streams and rivers (sometimes referred to as tributaries).

During stormy times a normally calm rivers can quickly turn into raging torrents that destroy anything unlucky enough to be in its path. Sometimes a storm is strong enough to completely change the path of a river.

As a river nears its end it slows down and in doing so it starts to drop the sediment that it has picked up and carried as it flowed downstream. In mighty rivers this sediment creates deltas of incredible rich soil and areas of incredible bio-diversity.

At its end, after dropping off the treasures it has carried down stream, a river merges into the sea becoming one with all of the other rivers that have similarly reached their end. There is no final judgment that determines whether a river is worthy of flowing into the sea…. a sea refuses no river.

I know that I’m not the first person to have such thoughts and dreams about rivers. I’m pretty sure that Pete Townshend must have had similar thoughts when he wrote his amazing song, A Sea Refuses No River.

Please don’t think I’m trying to influence what you believe……I just want to make you think……